Nord Stream 2 AG, the company behind the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, has responded to reports it is declaring bankruptcy.
The Swiss company, which denied the reports it made the decision to declare bankruptcy, also fired over 100 workers as a consequence of a barrage of economic sanctions imposed by Western nations in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Swiss media company SRF.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ALLOWS SANCTIONS TO RESUME ON NORD STREAM 2
“We cannot confirm the media reports that Nord Stream 2 has filed for bankruptcy” the company said in a statement. “The company only informed the local authorities that the company had to terminate contracts with employees following the recent geopolitical developments leading to the imposition of US sanctions on the company.”
Last week, the United States reimposed sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in response to Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. The attack on Ukraine also proved to be the last straw for Germany, which had long resisted pressure to deploy economic retaliation against the pipeline. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced last week his country was suspending the certification process for the pipeline to punish Russia for its hostile actions.
A U.S. official told CNN the sanctions against the parent company behind the pipeline, Russian state energy company Gazprom, would serve as a “death knell” to the project. A Swiss official appeared to agree.
Nord Stream 2 AG is a subsidiary of Gazprom, which managed the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, an ambitious natural gas pipeline that travels from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. If operational, the pipeline would enable Russia to sell natural gas to Germany and other Western European nations without having to go through Ukraine like it does with the Yamal–Europe pipeline.
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The $11 billion pipeline was finished last September but needed to receive its final certification. Germany had long resisted pressure from the U.S. to nix the project because it is very dependent on natural gas. Many U.S. foreign policy experts and officials, including President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, expressed concerns the pipeline would increase Europe’s energy dependence on Russia.
Nord Stream 2 AG is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. Switzerland recently opted to depart from its long-standing policy of neutrality and enforce European Union sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine. The Washington Examiner reached out to a representative from Nord Stream 2 AG but did not receive a response.
